Talarico, Cornyn meet in Washington

Sen.-elect James Talarico (D-Texas) and outgoing Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) met on Monday in Washington as newly elected lawmakers gather for orientation on Capitol Hill.

“I just met with Senator John Cornyn. He has served our state honorably, and I’m grateful for his advice and guidance. Now is the time for us to come together — Democrats and Republicans — to deliver for Texas,” Talarico wrote on X , sharing a photo of the two Texans shaking hands.

Cornyn ran for reelection to his Senate seat in this year’s midterms, but lost the Republican nomination in a bitter primary runoff against state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who snagged President Trump’s endorsement in the red state.

But Paxton, whose bid was dogged by controversy around his record as the state’s top prosecutor, struggled to keep up with Talarico, a state lawmaker and the Democrats’ Senate nominee, amid poor approval numbers for Trump and Republicans on the economy, immigration and the war in Iran.

Many Republicans had seen Cornyn as a much safer pick for the general election, and the incumbent never endorsed Paxton’s bid.

On Tuesday, Talarico won Cornyn’s Senate seat , marking Texas Democrats’ first statewide win in decades, as Democrat Gina Hinojosa won the governor’s mansion and Democrat Nathan Johnson flipped the attorney general role that Paxton’s now vacating.

The wins in Texas added to a blue wave that boosted Democrats to win the majority in both the Senate and the House.

Cornyn wrote last week that this party lost Texas and the Senate majority “because our party forgot the basic rules of coalition politics,” which he said include “be likeable,” “do what you promised” and “character & integrity still matter.”

On Monday, the Republican said that he’s met with Talarico twice since the election results, in Texas and in Washington, and that he considers it his “responsibility to help him in his transition as the next senator from Texas.”

“I wish him well. Obviously, his politics are different from mine, but I think Democrats are gonna have to deal with problems in their own party,” said Cornyn, who has served in the Senate for more than two decades.